Robbinsville approves $18.9 million in school construction

By Michael Macagnone, hamiltoninfcous.blogspot.com

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Robbinsville township has approved a new $18.9 million expenditure for construction in the school district.

Voters approved the bond referendum by an approximately 500-vote margin, 1,501 to 1,033, to help alleviate crowding in the town’s two K-8 schools. Superintendent Steven Mayer said he was glad the voters had approved their plan.

“I’m thrilled that the community understood us and approved our plan,” he said. “We’re really excited as a school district to take some productive steps forward.”

Mayer said enrollment growth over the years has put the two schools, Sharon School and Pond Road School, at about 20 percent over capacity. The plan will spend $10 million constructing a two-story, 24-room addition at Sharon School so it can accommodate fourth grade as well. Once finished, Sharon School will house up to grade four and Pond Road will handle five through eight.

Pond Road will also get five new classrooms and a new ventilation system, at a cost of $2 million out of the bond total. Taxes will go up about 4.4 cents for each $100 in value for a home in the township.

Mayer said the project, called “Classrooms for Kids” by school officials will meet their current needs and “give some breathing room for the future.”

Resident Ellen Gallagher said she supported the measure because conditions in the schools were getting out of control.

“The schools are totally overcrowded and they need to do something so they can keep Robbinsville schools up to par,” she said.

Another resident, Bill Wurfel, said he voted against the measure because he didn’t want the first solution to a problem to raise residents’ taxes.

“It’s just spend, spend, spend. Why can’t we come up with something creative?” he said.

Mayer said he understood residents concerns over taxes and the amount of spending; he lives in the township. The plan they put on the referendum was a reduction from another plan to build a new school building that would have cost more than $40 million.

“We’ve been working hard over the last few years to reduce that by more than half and it is still a sensible plan for our future,” he said. At the same time there is also a cost for inaction and I think our community understands that.”